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Welcome to the AIC Annual Meeting Program! Browse our draft schedule for the 2025 meeting in Minneapolis!

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Please note that ticketed events like workshops, luncheons, tours, and receptions are add-ons for meeting attendees. The prices listed are in addition to the meeting registration fees.

Banner photo by Lane Pelovsky, Courtesy of Meet Minneapolis
Thursday May 29, 2025 12:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
  • $35 registration fee
  • Adding this event to your schedule does not guarantee you a space. You must add it to your registration via the above "Add to Registration" button.

Are you a conservator or preservation technician working alone or in a small team, managing all aspects of preservation and/or conservation for both special and circulating library and archival collections? Do you find yourself navigating these responsibilities with limited resources or support? Join us for a lunch session to address these unique challenges that so many in our field experience, explore practical solutions for building and sustaining robust preservation programs, and continue to build your network.

In June 2024 a group of five “Lone Conservators” working in university libraries began meeting informally on Zoom every two weeks after connecting at AIC’s Annual Conference in Salt Lake City. We come from different parts of the world and we share a common experience: each of us is tasked with handling multiple roles, as our institutions lack the budget for fully staffed Preservation/Conservation Departments. While some university libraries are creating preservation or collections care positions, these roles are often filled by just one conservator tasked with overseeing entire programs. As a result, what were once well-staffed preservation efforts are being reduced to smaller teams, leaving fewer people to manage large collections that continue to deteriorate. Over the months of meeting we are finding great support in one another by creating a cross-institutional department meeting, an active Discord channel, and a fileshare where we exchange helpful documentation and protocols. Our hope is to expand this network and connect with more conservators in similar roles, inviting them to join us and benefit from the support we’ve found in one another.

This session serves as an extension of themes we discuss in our bi-monthly meetings and focuses on:

  • Building Networks and Sharing Resources: Strategies for connecting with local and online cultural heritage communities and sharing best practices and resources.
  • Overcoming Institutional Challenges: Effective communication to advocate for preservation needs, change institutional culture around preservation, and manage with limited budgets and staff.
  • Making the most of Resources: Prioritizing tasks, finding cost-efficient preservation methods and materials, setting up functional labs, and developing tools for management and collaboration.
  • Documentation and Policies: Creating and maintaining comprehensive documentation and developing effective preservation policies.
  • Professional Development: Opportunities for training and career growth to enhance skills and advance in the field.

Our group has grown already and we aim to open up this bi-monthly virtual meeting place for anyone who would benefit from joining. We continue to develop ideas, come up with ways to advocate for one another within our institutions, and organize as a group. We're excited to share our progress and discuss your thoughts during this lunch session!

Our panel will feature four professionals – Amanda Richards (University of Tennessee), Carrie Smith (Tulane University), Fleur van der Woude (University of Arizona), and Nora Bloch (Virginia Commonwealth University) – who navigate these challenges and will share their insights and stories. Attendees will be encouraged to participate in the conversation, share their experiences, and collaborate on solutions. Together, we can inspire each other and strengthen the field of library and archive preservation and conservation.
Speakers
avatar for Nora Bloch

Nora Bloch

Collections Care Librarian and Conservator, Virginia Commonwealth University)
Nora Bloch holds a Master’s of Library and Information Studies from the University of California--Los Angeles and a B.A. in Classical Studies from the University of California--Santa Cruz.  Additionally, she holds a MA in Book and Paper Conservation from West Dean College in England... Read More →
avatar for Amanda Richards

Amanda Richards

Preservation Technician, University of Tennessee Library
avatar for Carrie Smith

Carrie Smith

Conservation Librarian, Tulane University Libraries
Carrie Smith is the Conservation Librarian at Tulane University Libraries. She was most recently an Assistant Conservator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Prior to that, she held conservation positions at New York University, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, National Postal... Read More →
avatar for Fleur van der Woude

Fleur van der Woude

Special Collections Preventive Conservator, University of Arizona Libraries
Fleur van der Woude works at University of Arizona Libraries Special Collections in Tucson, AZ. She manages the Preservation Studio, where a small team works on a broad range of activities to ensure preservation and accessibility of Special Collections and circulating collections... Read More →
Thursday May 29, 2025 12:00pm - 2:00pm CDT
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis

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